During a panel discussion on Senator Tammy Duckworth calling on the Biden Administration to improve its Asian American and Pacific Islander representation in its cabinet, Meghan McCain launched into a rant against using race and gender to determine the best candidate for the job instead of qualifications. The daughter of the late Senator John McCain believes that America should be a “meritocracy” where simply the best candidate wins, and she even went so far as to invoke Martin Luther King Jr. in her argument. Via Raw Story:
“We’re going to a place where even if [white] people need money, even if [white] people are qualified to get into Ivy Leagues, race and gender is more important than your skill qualifications, the content of your character,” she remarked. “It is not what Martin Luther King Jr. preached. I think this is a very, very slippery slope.”
You can see a sample of McCain railing against “identity politics” below:
Here we go again with the "minorities are never qualified" bullshit coming from conservatives.
Meghan McCain should be reminded that her party voted for Trump (a conman) who had NO political experience to be president of the United States #TheView pic.twitter.com/QvRn2a4zFM
— Live On The Chat (@LiveOnTheChat) March 24, 2021
McCain then took things one step further by noting that The View has only had one AAPI co-host in 25 years, so does that mean she or one of her hosts should leave to make room for an Asian American host? It was a pretty jarring question considering just two days ago McCain apologized for aiding Donald Trump’s anti-Asian rhetoric during the start of the pandemic, and now, she’s essentially arguing that she’s more qualified to host The View than an Asian candidate.
Meghan McCain: "We’ve only had one Asian American host co-host host this show. Does that mean one of us should be leaving because there’s not enough representation? We're talking about — is identity politics more important than the qualifications for the job?" pic.twitter.com/0nN1ilB9Nn
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) March 24, 2021
Despite the fact that she normally speaks last during these discussions, McCain’s argument didn’t go unchallenged. Co-host Sunny Hostin explained why America continues to fail to be a meritocracy. “For a long time, this country has exalted and advanced white, male mediocrity,” Hostin said. “It’s not about gender and race being more important and qualifications. It’s about the fact that there are many qualified women and minority candidates that never get the opportunity because, again, the advancement of white, male mediocrity.”